International Journal of Solids and Structures 102–103 (2016) 21–29

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International Journal of Solids and Structures

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijsolstr

Mechanics model and its equation of wire rope based on elastic thin
rod theory
Weiguo Wu∗, Xin Cao
Humanoid and Gorilla Robot & Its Intelligent Motion Control Lab, School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In view of the lack of general mechanics model and theoretical formula for force-deformation calculation
Received 13 September 2016 of wire rope, a novel modeling method for wire rope mechanics model is presented. The mathematical
Revised 19 October 2016
model of wire rope’s secondary helix is established using the Frenet frame and differential geometry.
Available online 22 October 2016
On the basis of that geometrical parameters of secondary helical line is derived from the necessary as-
Keywords: sumptions and geometrical relationship, using elastic thin rod theory of Love to establish an equivalent
Wire rope mechanics model of wire rope, and the equivalent elastic modulus and equivalent shear modulus calcu-
Helical line lation formulas are deduced. The deformation and elongation of wire rope under known tension can be
Equivalent mechanics model calculated by the formulas. The force-deformation calculation of actual wire rope is carried out, and the
Equivalent elastic modulus results show that the maximum deviation of elongation is less than 8% compared with the finite element
simulation and experimental measurement. Therefore, the correctness and generality of the model are
verified, and it has theoretical and practical significance for the application and analysis of wire rope.
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Wire rope is a kind of metal product with space helix layered
structure. The main production process of wire rope includes: wire
drawing, twisting into strand and twisting into rope. As shown in
Fig. 1, a strand is twisted by several wires, and a rope is twisted by
several strands. Therefore, side wire in side strand is a special he-
lical line around a helical line. In this paper, the special helical line
is defined as secondary helical line. Because of the high strength,
good softness and high stability, wire rope is widely applied in
various fields including machinery, construction, mining marine,
aerospace and so on. In the literatures, the geometry structure of
wire rope is studied by analytic method, and applying numerical
method and simulation software to research the relationship be-
tween load and deformation, contact stress and deformation, abra-
sion, fatigue and fracture (Wang et al., 2013). Firstly, summariz-
ing the research situation of wire rope modeling below. At present,
there are mainly three types of wire rope model. The first type is
to establish the wire rope model through experimental study, the
second is to establish numerical calculation model by theoretical
deduction, and the third is to establish the simulation model by
using the finite element analysis softwares or other dynamic anal-
ysis softwares.
∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: wuwg@hit.edu.cn (W. Wu).
The first type includes: In 2003, Zhang et al. researched on the
wire rope friction caused by fatigue and fracture, through a series
of wire rope fretting friction experiments (Zhang et al., 2003); In
2012, Tan and Zuo proposed a method of estimating the breaking
force of wire rope, through the analysis of a large number of wire
rope breaking experimental data (Tan and Hang, 2012). The second
type includes: In 2004, Elata et al. of Israel Institute researched on
mechanical characteristic of the independent wire rope (Elata et al.,
2004). A mathematical model of independent wire rope was estab-
lished, the numerical calculation was carried out by using Maple.
The experimental results showed that the error of the wire rope
stiffness between numerical calculation and measurement is less
than 20%; The French scholar Berlioz carried out the dynamic mod-
eling of the state of cable-stayed wire rope with the boundary con-
dition in 2005 (Berlioz and Lamarque, 2005), using a multi scale
method to predict nonlinear characteristics of wire rope; Zhang
and Agrawal (2006) based on the premise that the axial velocity is
unknown, derived a dynamic model of flexible variable length wire
rope transmission system by the Hamilton principle. The model
can obtain the longitudinal vibration response of wire rope and be
used to design the Lyapunov controller; A nonlinear model of wire
rope under natural wind load was proposed by Nicola in Italy in
2011 (Impollonia et al., 2011), the natural wind load was defined
by the continuous method, simplifying the vertical inertial force
and effectively reducing the amount of calculation using orthog-
onal method to numerically solve; Argatov established an asymp-
totic model for wire rope strand in 2011 (Argatov, 2011). Poisson

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsolstr.2016.10.021
0020-7683/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
22 W. Wu, X. Cao / International Journal of Solids and Structures 102–103 (2016) 21–29
Fig. 1. twisting process of wire rope.
Fig. 2. Finite element model of wire rope (Páczelt and Beleznai, 2011).
ratio was considered and local contact deformations were stud-
ied in detail in this literature. The constructed asymptotic model
allows for obtaining local contact stresses which are very impor-
tant in a design process and in a preliminary step to study the
strand strength and its wear resistance; Choi established a wire
rope model using the spectral element method in 2014 (Choi and
Inman, 2014). The numerical results of the model can be used to
predict the elastic deformation of wire rope accurately. However,
the ability of this method to simulate the heterogeneous or 2D
and 3D structure is weak, and general property needs to be im-
proved; The semi-continuous approach, in which each wire layer
is replaced by a transversely isotropic continuous layer, has been
developed by Blouin and Cardou (1989), and recently extended by
Crossley et al. (2003); A new continuum model for multilayered
fibrous structures was developed by Ghoreishi et al. (2007). The
third type includes: Imanishi et al. carried on the dynamic simu-
lation of the hydraulic system including drum and wire rope by
finite element method in 2009 (Imanishi et al., 2009); Ma et al.
established the finite element model of wire rope by ANSYS (Ma
et al., 2009, 2012). The load distribution of steel wire in rope core
and the stress distribution among the steel wires were respec-
tively analyzed in 2009 and 2012. Páczelt et al. used finite ele-
ment method to analyze the nonlinear contact theory of wire rope
in 2011 (Páczelt and Beleznai, 2011). Wang et al. solved dynamic
characteristics of wire rope in 2012 (Wang et al., 2012), through
the combination of ADAMS and MATLAB/Simulink simulation, and
secondary development function of ADAMS was applied. In 2013,
Kastratovi and Vidanović analyzed wire rope for aircraft using fi-
nite element software (Kastratović and Vidanović, 2013). The me-
chanical behavior of wire rope in the lifting process can be pre-
dicted well, but experimental verification wasn’t carried out.Wu
calculated the stress and deformation distribution of wire rope
with ANSYS in 2014 (Wu et al., 2014). Zhao analyzed the change
of impact load of wire rope in 2015 (Zhao, 2015), under the con-
ditions of lifting load dropping at different heights, with ANSYS.
In addition, Wu et al. designed a modular flexible driven unit for
joint of robot (Wu and Hou, 2011, 2014), Dynamics model was
deduced based on constitutive equation of viscoelasticity, and a
novel method of building wire rope-pulley system was provided
using 3D relative variable polyline. By simulation and experimental
verification, this method is suitable for the modeling of the flexible
driven unit modeling. In order to improve the accuracy of unit con-
trol, further improve the unit structure, optimize the performance
index, need to establish a more accurate wire rope model.
It is worth mentioning that the present work is different from
that of Usabiaga and Pagalday (2008). First, the radial contraction
of wire due to Poisson’s effect is neglected in their work. And the
kinematics in their work are based on the assumption that wires
are un-lubricated, therefore, no relative sliding between adjacent
wires happens. However, the friction among steel wires is ignored
is this paper. What’s more, they didn’t compare the results with
experiments. In this paper, we compare the results with experi-
ments and FEM simulation. The work of Costello is so classical and
comprehensive that almost all the theoretical researches of wire
rope use Costello’s work for reference. In this paper, further re-
search is carried out on the basis of previous studies. The defor-
mation and equivalent elastic modulus of wire rope are focus in
our research. The difference from the work of Costello (1990) and
Phillips and Costello (1985) is that secondary helical line is con-
sidered in present work. In addition, the improved constitutive re-
lation of Ramsey is applied in present work when the mechanics
model is established.
Most of the existing calculation models of wire rope, only suit a
single type of wire rope, lack of universality. Taking finite element
simulation as an example, when the wire rope structure changes,
it’s necessary to re-modeling analysis. In this paper, a new me-
chanics model of wire rope will be established, which is simple,
accurate, easy to use, and can be used without the aid of finite el-
ement analysis and numerical calculation softwares. In this paper,
the research method of literature Argatov (2011) was referenced.
However, the research object in literature Argatov (2011) is simple,
just a strand; the model proposed in this paper is more general.
In addition, the significant difference is that wire rope side strand
is a key research object in this paper. And the secondary helix has
not been mentioned in literature Argatov (2011). Section 2 mainly
introduces wire rope geometric modeling process and prepares for
stress analysis. In Section 3, stress analysis of wire rope is carried
out, from steel wire to strand and rope. The mechanics model of
wire rope is established, and calculation formula of the equivalent
elastic modulus and elongation of wire rope is obtained. In Section
4, compared with results of the existing simulation or tensile ex-
periment, the correctness of the model is verified.
2. Establishment of geometric model of wire rope
2.1. Derivation of secondary helical line
Helical line widely exists in the life body, which is determined
by its excellent properties, including: helical line can play a role
in saving energy consumption, like a spring with certain elas-
ticity and so on. These properties make the living body occupy
the advantage in the struggle for existence, directly or indirectly.
 W. Wu, X. Cao / International Journal of Solids and Structures 102–103 (2016) 21–29 23

Fig. 4. Method plane screenshot of Frenet frame.

Fig. 3. Frenet frame of helical line in the base coordinate system. According to definition of curvature, the curvature of helical
line is constant as follows:
Therefore, the study of helix has great significance on the research κ = cos2 β /R
and application of bionics. There are mainly two methods to de-
Eq. (5) can be expressed as a matrix form as follows:
duce the secondary helical line equation: one is deduced by the     
coordinate transformation after establishment of Frenet frame, the n −cosϕ −sinϕ 0 ex
other is regarding the space helical line as the motion track of a b = sinβ sinϕ sinβ cosϕ cosβ ey (6)
certain point, and decomposing the motion into translation and t −cosβ sinϕ cosβ cosϕ sinβ ez
rotation, then realizing the parametric equation derived by trans- Next, establish geometric equation, according to the position re-
formational matrix. In order to obtain the geometric equations of lation between secondary helical line and helical line. The param-
higher order helical lines, this paper improves the first method. eters’ definition of secondary helical line are: θ is secondary he-
Strand is twisted by a plurality of steel wires, and wire rope is lix polar angle, and r is secondary helix radius, the unit of angle
twisted by a plurality of strands. It is generally considered that the is radians and the unit of length is m. Secondary helix radius is
center line of core strand side wire and side strand core wire is he- the distance from secondary helical line to helical line. Thus, there
lical line, and the center line of side strand side wire is secondary must be a point P belonging to secondary helical line in the nor-
helical line. Although there may be not strict compliance with heli- mal plane of helical line, as shown in Fig. 3. The position vector of
cal rule in the process of wire rope twisting, owing to the length of P in Frenet frame can be expressed as p:
wire rope is far greater than the diameter of steel wire, strand and
wire rope, it’s approximately considered steel wires and strands in p = −r cosθ n + r sinθ b (7)
actual wire rope comply with the above helical relationship. Tak- Simultaneously Eqs. (6) and (7), the expression of p in Oxyz
ing right cross twisting wire rope as an example, the process of is:
the derivation of geometric equation of secondary helical line is as
follows. p = r (sinϕ sinβ sinθ + cosϕ cosθ )ex
The parameters of helical line are defined: ϕ is polar angle of +r (sinϕ cosθ −cosϕ sinβ sinθ )ey + r cosβ sinθ ez (8)
helix, β is helix angle, and R is helix radius, the unit of angle is
Then, use q to represent the position vector of point P in Oxyz:
radians and the unit of length is m. As shown in Fig. 3, M is a
point on the helical line, and its position vector is m. ex , ey , ez
q =m+p (9)
is respectively the unit vector of each axis of the base coordinate
system Oxyz. So, there is Eq. (1) in Oxyz: Simultaneously, Eqs. (8) and (9), the position vector of point P
belonging to secondary helical line in Oxyz can be expressed as
m = Rcosϕ ex + Rsinϕ ey + Rϕ tanβ ez (1)
follows:
The arc length of helical line is expressed by s, then:  
(R + rcosθ )cosϕ + rsinϕ sinβ sinθ
ds = Ldϕ (2) q = (R + r cosθ )sinϕ −r cosϕ sinβ sinθ (10)
Rϕ tanβ + r cosβ sinθ
where L is arc length of unit arc, and L can be expressed as follows:
 Obviously, five parameters are not enough to determine the
only one of the secondary helical line. Secondary helix angle α
L= (2π Rtanβ ) + (2π R )2 /2π = R/cosβ
2
(3)
is necessary to be defined. An extremely small segment of heli-
In Fig. 4, Frenet frame is established at M point, where t is tan- cal line and secondary helical line are blocked near point M. In the
gential unit vector, n is normal unit vector, b is binormal unit vec- Frenet frame of point M, as shown in Fig. 5, because the segments
tor. Eq. (4) can be obtained according to the definition of Frenet are small enough, helical line can be approximately considered as
frame: a straight line along t axis, and secondary helical line can be ap-
 proximately considered as general helical line. Moreover, secondary
t = ∂ m/∂ s = (∂ m/∂ϕ )(∂ϕ /∂ s )
helical line turns a very small arc dθ around helical line, the fol-
n = (1/κ )(∂ t/∂ s ) (4)
lowing geometric relations can be obtained:
b=t×n 
Simultaneously Eqs. (2)–(4), Eq. (5) is obtained as follows: dl1 = rdθ tanα
(11)
 dl2 = rdθ /cosα
t = cosβ (−sinϕ ex + cosϕ ey ) + sinβ ez
n = −(cosϕ ex + sinϕ ey ) (5) where dl1 and dl2 respectively express the length of blocked helical
b = sinβ (sinϕ ex −cosϕ ey ) + cosβ ez line and secondary helical line. The secondary helical line is the
24 W. Wu, X. Cao / International Journal of Solids and Structures 102–103 (2016) 21–29

Fig. 5. Spatial geometry relation between helical line and secondary helical line.

Fig. 6. Relative length relationship between helical line and secondary helical line.

only one when the relation between ϕ and θ is certain. Thus, it’s 2.2. Structure and geometric parameters of wire rope
defined that secondary helical line turns θ when helical line turns
ϕ . The length of helical line l1 and secondary helical line l2 can be The following derivation process is based on the assumption
obtained by integration. that is: (1) The friction among steel wires is ignored; (2) Wires
 θ and strands are still helix after wire rope force-deformation; (3)
l1 = r tanα dθ = rθ tanα (12) The cross section perpendicular to the core wire’s center line of
0 steel wire is still round after wire rope force-deformation.
As shown in Fig. 7, d0 expresses the radius of side strand core
 θ wire, d expresses the radius of side strand side wire. Thus, under
l2 = (r/cosα )dθ = rθ /cosα (13) unloading condition, the secondary helix radius r is as follows:
0
r = (d0 + d )/2 (16)
It is calculated that l1 , l2 and rθ satisfy Pythagorean theorem,
that is l1 2 +(rθ )2 = l2 2 . Hence, when one helical line is expanded as The section of the wire rope shown in Fig. 7 is relatively sim-
hypotenuse in the plane, secondary helical line becomes a helical ple. As shown in Fig. 8, there are many layers of side wire in
line around the helical line. Then the secondary can be expanded one strand. The diameters of the side wires in the same layer are
as hypotenuse too, as shown in Fig. 6. The length of helical line can usually the same, however, there may be different in some case.
ϕ
also be integrated by Eq. (2), l1 = 0 R/cosβ dϕ = Rϕ /cosβ , there- Though the layer is different, the center line of the different side
fore, the length relationship between secondary helical line and wire is still secondary helical line with different secondary helix
helical line is as follows: radius. The secondary helix radius ri can be obtained easily accord-
ing to the geometric relation shown in Fig. 7.
Rϕ /cosβ = rθ tanα (14) Considering the Poisson ratio of steel wire, the secondary helix
radius r under loading can be expressed as follows:
Thus, the complete equation of secondary helical line can be
expressed as follows: r = [(1−ν0 ε )d0 + (1−νξ )d]/2 (17)
⎧  
⎪ (R + rcosθ )cosϕ + rsinϕ sinβ sinθ where ν 0 and ν are respectively the Poisson ratio of side strand
⎨ core wire and side strand side wire, ε and ξ are respectively the
q= (R + rcosθ )sinϕ −rcosϕ sinβ sinθ
(15)
⎪ Rϕ tanβ + r cosβ sinθ strain of side strand core wire along helical line and side strand
⎩
Rϕ /cosβ = rθ tanα side wire along secondary helical line.
 W. Wu, X. Cao / International Journal of Solids and Structures 102–103 (2016) 21–29 25

Fig. 7. Sketch map of strand of wire rope.

Since tension and torsion displacement will occur when the

side strand is under loading, it can be obtained as follows:

S = (1 + ξ )S
L = (1 + ε )L (20)
m/r = m/r−Lψ

where ψ expresses the twist angle on the unit length of side wire
along the direction of core wire.
γ is defined as follows:
γ = ψ rtanα (21)

Simultaneously Eqs. (15)–(18), it can be obtained as follows:


sinα = (1 + ε )sinα /(1 + ξ )
(22)
tanα = r (1 + ε )tanα /[r (1−γ )]
Fig. 8. Sketch map of strand of wire rope with multi steel wire layers.

Thus, the strain of side strand side wire can be expressed as

As shown in Fig. 9, L and L respectively express the length of follows:
side strand core wire without and with loading, S and S respec- 
tively express the length of side strand side wire without and with ξ= (r/r )2 (1−γ )2 cos2 α + (1 + ε )2 sin2 α −1 (23)
loading, α and α respectively express the secondary helix angle of
side strand side wire without and with loading. Thus, there are the The introduction of ρ expresses the rate of change of secondary
following equations according to the geometric relations: helix radius.
 ρ = 1−r/r = (ν0 ε d0 + νξ d + 2δx )/(d0 + d ) (24)
sinα = L/S
(18)
tanα = L/m Combine Eqs. (23) and (24).

 ξ= (1−ρ )2 (1−γ )2 cos2 α + (1 + ε )2 sin2 α −1 (25)
sinα = L/S
(19)
tanα = L/m

Fig. 9. Geometric relations of the side wire center line of the wire rope side strand before and after deformation.
26 W. Wu, X. Cao / International Journal of Solids and Structures 102–103 (2016) 21–29

Fig. 10. Schematic diagram of force analysis of side wire of side strand of wire rope.

Thus, the change of the secondary helix angle of side strand SimultaneouslyEqs. (30) and (31), it can be obtained that:
side wire can be expressed as follows:
Fb = −EI (κ2 + κ2 ξ )τ2 + GJ (τ2 + τ2 ξ )κ2 (32)
tan(α −α ) = [ε + ρ + γ (1−ρ )]sinα cosα /
{1 + ε sin2 α + [γ (ρ −1 )−ρ ]cos2 α} (26)
X = −Fb τ2 + EAξ κ2 (33)
The curvature and torsion of secondary helical line in Frenet
frame before and after loading can respectively be obtained as fol-
3.2. Force analysis and equivalent mechanics model of wire rope
lows:
κ2 = cos2 α /r, τ2 = sinα cosα /r The resultant force on side strand is the combination of the
κ2 = cos2 α /r, τ2 = sinα cosα /r force on each wire of side strand, as shown in Fig. 11. The resultant
According to the above equations, the change of the curvature tension is added by tension on each wire, and the resultant torque
and torsion of secondary helical line in Frenet frame can be ob- is added by torque on each wire. Thus, the tension and torque on
tained. side strand after loading can be expressed as Eqs. (34) and (35):
κ2 = cos2 α{(1−ρ )(1−γ )2 / Ft  = Ft0 + m(Ft sinα + Fb cosα ) (34)
r[(1−ρ ) (1−γ ) cos2 α + (1 + ε ) sin2 α ]−1/r}
2 2 2
(27)
Mb = Mb0 + m[ (Mt sinα + Mb cosα ) + r (Fb sinα −Ft cosα ) ] (35)
τ2 = sinα cosα{(1 + ε )(1−γ )/ where Ft 0 = E0 A0 ε , E0 A0 is tensile stiffness of core wire;
r[(1−ρ ) (1−γ ) cos2 α + (1 + ε ) sin2 α ]−1/r}
2 2 2
(28) Mb 0 = G0 J0 ψ , G0 J0 is torsional stiffness of core wire.
The purpose of this paper is to solve the deformation of wire
3. The establishment of equivalent mechanics model of wire rope under the action of known tension. If the internal complex
rope structure of wire rope is ignored, it can be regarded as a kind of
rope made of ‘homogeneous material’ . Therefore, the elongation of
3.1. Force analysis of steel wire inside strand wire rope under known tension can be calculated, with the ‘elas-
tic modulus’ of ‘homogeneous material’ . According to this idea of
As shown in Fig. 10, a small piece of side wire is blocked. Ac- equivalent, considering each side strand as a ‘steel wire’ . Thus, the
cording to the elastic thin rod theory of Love (1944), forces sub- diameter of this ‘steel wire’ is equal to diameter of minimum cir-
jected to side strand side wire can be expressed as follows: cumscribed circle of cross section of side strand, and the deforma-

dFn /dx−Fn τ2 + Ft κ2 −X = 0 tion of this ‘steel wire’ is equal to deformation of side strand core
(29) wire. Eq. (36) can be obtained from the knowledge of mechanics
dMn /dx−Mb τ2 + Mt κ2 −Fb −K = 0
of materials.
where Fn , Fb and Ft respectively express normal, binormal and tan- 
gential force of side strand side wire, Mn , Mb and Mt respectively Ft  = Es A ε
(36)
express normal, binormal and tangential torque of side strand side Mb = Gs J  ψ
wire, X expresses normal distributed force externally applied on
where Es and Gs respectively express the equivalent elastic modu-
side strand side wire, K expresses normal distributed torque exter-
lus and equivalent shear modulus of side strand.
nally applied on side strand side wire, x expresses displacement of
Simultaneously Eqs. (34)–(36), Eqs. (37) and (38) can be ob-
side strand side wire.
tained as follows:
That the deformation of wire rope is uniform is assumed af-
ter loading, force and position are irrelevant, and K = 0. Thus, Eq. Es = (d0 /D )2 E0 + m(d/D )2 E sinα −mE (d/D )2
(30) can be derived from Eq. (29).
 ×(1 − ρ )(1 − γ )[(1 − ρ )(1 − γ )(1 + ν )
X = −Fb τ2 + Ft κ2 +(1 + ξ )2 (ξ − 1 )(1 + ν ) − (1 + ε )(1 − γ ) − (1 + ξ )
2
(30)
Fb = −Mb τ2 + Mt κ2
×(ξ − 1 )](sinα cos4 α )/[16(1 + ξ ) (1 + ν )]
3
(37)
According to the improved constitutive relation of Ramsey
(1988), Mb and Mt can be expressed as follows:

Mb = EI (κ2 + κ2 ξ ) = π E d4 (κ2 + κ2 ξ )/64 Gs = (d0 /D )4 G0 + (d/D )4 aGsin
2
α
(31)
Mt = GJ (τ2 + τ2 ξ ) = π E d4 (τ2 + τ2 ξ )/[64(1 + ν )] +[d /(2D )]bE sinα cos
4 4 2
α − (8d2 /D4 )cEr2 sinα (38)
 W. Wu, X. Cao / International Journal of Solids and Structures 102–103 (2016) 21–29
Fig. 11. Schematic diagram of force analysis of side strand of wire rope.
where a, b and c are respectively as follows:
a = [(1 + ε )(1 − γ ) + (ξ − 1 )(1 + ξ ) ]
2
×[(1 + ε )sinα + (1 − ρ )(1 − γ )cos2 α ]/[γ (1 + ε ) ]
3
(38–1)
b = (1 − ρ )(1 − γ )[(1 − ρ )(1 − γ ) + (ξ − 1 )(1 + ξ ) ]
2 2
×[1 + ξ − (1 + ε )sinα ]/[γ (1 + ξ ) ]
4
(38–2)
c = (1 − ρ ) (1 − γ )/(1 + ξ )
2
(38–3)
Es can be calculated by Eq. (37) so that ε , γ , ξ and ρ can be calcu-
lated. Then a, b, and c can be obtained by these variables, and put
into Eq. (38) to obtain Gs .
3.3. Equivalent elastic modulus of wire rope
In practical applications, the elongation of wire rope is more
concerned. Therefore, this paper focuses on the equivalent elastic
modulus. Obviously, the equivalent elastic modulus of side strand
cannot be directly calculated by Eq. (37). Eq. (37) is simplified as
follows:
Es ≈ (d0 /D )2 E0 + m(d/D )2 E sinα (39)
Since ε , ξ , ρ , γ <<1, the main impact of the third term in Eq.
(37) is α . In wire rope, α is usually quite big closing to 90° When
α = 70°, the ratio of the third term and second term in Eq. (37) is
about 8.6 × 10−4 . Thus it can be seen that the third term has tiny
impact on the value of Es . And when α is bigger, the computation
error of Eq. (39) is smaller.
In addition, the equivalent elastic modulus of side strand is cal-
culated by Eq. (39), and the reasons as follow for the error are also
included:
(1) Under the actual load, wire rope will occur inhomogeneous
deformation. It cannot be guaranteed to be equal every-
where as assumption, and this phenomenon may be related
to the friction among steel wires;
(2) The actual sections of steel wires in wire rope are not round,
but similar ellipse. It is also different from the assumption.
However, the diameter of steel wire is much smaller than
the length of wire rope and helix angle is quite big, so that
this assumption is reasonable within the allowable range of
the error;
(3) The friction among steel wires is ignored, but it’s difficult
to estimate the impact on the overall force to what extent.
Nevertheless, the influence of this part is pretty small in the
condition of good lubrication.
27
If the Eq. (38) is extended to the side strand with a plurality of
steel wire layer, equivalent elastic modulus of side strand can be
generally expressed as follows:
n
Es ≈ (d0 /D )2 E0 + mi (di /D ) Ei sinαi
2
(40)
i=1
where Es expresses equivalent elastic modulus of arbitrary side
strand; d0 expresses diameter of side strand core wire; E0 ex-
presses elastic modulus of side strand core wire; di expresses di-
ameter of side wire in the ith layer; Ei expresses elastic modulus
of side wire in the ith layer; α i expresses helix angle of side wire
center line in ith layer; mi expresses number of side wire in ith
layer.
The equivalent mechanics model of side strand is derived above,
and equivalent elastic modulus and equivalent shear modulus of
side strand are obtained. The derivation of core strand is in the
same way, and the expression of core strand is the same as Eq.
(40). Overall, the equivalent mechanics model of wire rope can be
established. The equivalent elastic modulus of wire rope can be ex-
pressed as follows:
n
E r ≈ ( d 0 / D  ) 2 E  s 0 + mi (di /D )2 E si sinαi (41)
i=1
where Er expresses equivalent elastic modulus of arbitrary wire
rope; d0  expresses diameter of core strand; Es0  expresses equiva-
lent elastic modulus of core strand; di  expresses diameter of side
strand in the ith layer; Es i  expresses equivalent elastic modulus of
side strand in the ith layer; α i  expresses helix angle of side strand
center line in ith layer; mi  expresses number of side strand in ith
layer.
3.4. Tensile deformation and elongation of wire rope
Under the condition of known wire rope structure and mate-
rial property parameters, equivalent elastic modulus of strand and
wire rope can be calculated by Eqs. (40) and (41) in turn. Assumed
that wire rope is subjected to tension F, the deformation ε can be
calculated by F = EAε .
ε = F /EA (42)
where E expresses equivalent elastic modulus of wire rope, A ex-
presses area calculated by nominal diameter of wire rope.
Suppose the wire rope length is l, the elongation l can be ob-
tained as follows:
l = l ε = F l /EA (43)
28 W. Wu, X. Cao / International Journal of Solids and Structures 102–103 (2016) 21–29

Table 1
Structure parameters of 14–6 ×36WS-IWRC.

Strand layer Strand diameter Strand twist Strand Wire layer Wire Wire twist Wire
/mm angle/° pitch/mm diameter/mm angle/° pitch/mm

Core strand 1.68 0 — Core wire 0.56 — —

Side wire 0.56 15 13
Inner strand 1.68 20 29 Core wire 0.56 — —
Side wire 0.56 15 13
Outer strand 4.60 20 82 Core wire 0.877 — —
1st side wire 0.671 6.343 44.44
2nd side wire 0.500 10.857
0.641 10.089
3rd side wire 0.800 15

Fig. 12. Sketch map of tensile experiment.

4. Numerical examples and results comparison

Fig. 13. Sketch map of 14–6 × 36 wire rope.
There is an example in literature Costello (1990): Consider
a simple straight strand with R1 = 0.103in.(1in. = 25.4 mm),
Table 2
R2 = 0.101in., p2 = 9.75in., E = 28,50 0,0 0 0psi(1psi = 6894.75 Pa), Calculation results of elongation.
ν = 0.25, and m2 = 6. When ε = 0.0015, the total axial force is
Position/mm 80 100 120 140 160 180
9400lb(1lb = 4.448222 N). Therefore, the equivalent elastic mod-
ulus is 147.845 GPa. Using the model in this paper to calculate, Elongation/mm 0.1046 0.1308 0.1569 0.1831 0.2092 0.2354
the result is 150.405 GPa. Thus it can be seen that the deviation
between the present work and Costello’s work is very small. And
then, in order to further verify the correctness of the model in this
paper, another two numerical examples of different wire ropes
are given here. And the model calculation results are compared
with the experimental and finite element analysis results in other
literatures.

4.1. Numerical examples of wire rope

Distribution of equivalent stresses and deformations for 6

strand warrington–seale rope with an independent wire rope core
was researched in literature Wu et al. (2014), and tensile exper-
iments were carried out. The length of the experiment object is
600 mm, and there are 6 measuring points whose the distance
between the fixed end are 80 mm, 100 mm, 120 mm, 140 mm,
160 mm and 180 mm, as shown in Fig. 12. The elastic modulus of
steel wire is 183.9 GPa, the structure parameters of wire rope are
shown in Table 1 and the section of wire rope is shown in Fig. 13.
According to Fig. 13 and Table 1, the corresponding helix ra-
diuses and helix angles can be calculated. Thus, the equivalent
elastic modulus of wire rope can be obtained by Eqs. (40) and (41).
Then, the elongation can be obtained by Eq. (43) as shown in Table
2. The comparison of results is shown in Fig. 14.
1 × 19 wire rope was studied in literature Kastratović and Vi-
danović (2013), and the section is shown in Fig. 15. The structure
parameters of wire rope include: steel wire radius is 0.335 mm, in-
ner wire pitch is 44 mm, outer wire pitch is 87.983 mm and elastic
modulus of steel wire is 188 GPa.
Fig. 14. Comparison of the computing results of the equivalent model and results
of the literature.
4.2. Discussion and analysis of results
Observe the curve of Fig. 14, if there is no problem in wire rope
end clamp, the elongation of the fixed end should be zero. How-
ever, the experiment curve of literature (Wu et al., 2014) doesn’t
pass through the origin of coordinates. If zero drift is eliminated,
the calculated results of the model established in the paper fits
well with the experiments curve, and the maximum deviation is
about 7.9%. In addition, the equivalent elastic modulus obtained by
experiment is about 97.422 GPa, and the value calculated by the
in this paper and the work of Costello is respectively 99.346 GPa
and 101.677 GPa. The deviation of the present work and the work
 W. Wu, X. Cao / International Journal of Solids and Structures 102–103 (2016) 21–29
Fig. 15. Sketch map of 1 × 19 wire rope.
of Costello is respectively 1.97% and 4.37%. Therefore, the result of
present work is more accurate than the work of Costello.
In the literature Elata et al. (2004), 6 × 36 wire rope whose
nominal diameter is 14 mm was studied too. Numerical calcula-
tion and tensile experiments were carried out, but the specific pa-
rameters of wire rope were not given in the literature (Elata et
al., 2004). The equivalent elastic modulus by numerical calculation
is 95.49 GPa, and experiment result is 84.45 GPa. The deviation is
about 13.1%. There may be differences in structure and material
properties of wire rope at home and abroad, and no parameters,
so it’s unable to compare with the model established in this paper.
The equivalent elastic modulus of wire rope by the finite el-
ement method in literature Kastratović and Vidanović (2013) is
132.36 GPa, and the results calculated by the model in this paper is
142.20 GPa. In application, we need to know the elongation of wire
rope, the elongation is inversely proportional to elastic modulus.
Thus, the deviation between the model and finite element anal-
ysis is 6.93%. Wire rope can be simulated more close to the real
situation by finite element analysis. However, it’s necessary to re-
model and modify the simulation conditions once the version of
wire rope is changed. Using the model established in this paper
can solve the problem. The deviation between the model and fi-
nite element analysis can be ignored in practice. Thus, it can be
considered that the results obtained by the model are consistent
with the results obtained by the finite element analysis.
5. Conclusions
In summary, the following conclusions can be obtained: The
equivalent mechanics model is established by using the elastic thin
rod theory of Love. Then the formulas of equivalent elastic modu-
lus and equivalent shear modulus are deduced, deformation and
elongation of wire rope can also be solved by them. By compar-
ison with the work of Costello, FEM simulation and experiment,
the correctness of the model in this paper can be verified, and
the maximum deviation of this wire rope mechanics model in the
solution of wire rope elongation is less than 8%. In the practical
29
application, the effect of this part is very small and almost can be
ignored. In addition, the present model is general and can provide
theoretical foundation for wide application of wire rope.
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